Fibrositis, (Fibromyositis) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Fibrositis is a frequent non-specific group of syndrome characterized by diffuse chronic pain, felt in and over muscle masses with focal trigger points or tender points in muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments.
It is no longer necessary to find tender trigger points during the exam to make a diagnosis.
Fibrositis is a frequent disorder in which a person has long-term pain that is spread throughout the body.
Fibrositis has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression and anxiety.
People with fibrositis may also have tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues.
Fibrositis (FS) is typically featured by chronic widespread pain and allodynia (a heightened and painful response to pressure).
Fibrositis symptoms are not limited to pain resulting in the use of the alternative term fibromyalgia syndrome for the disorder.
Other symptoms are debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance and joint stiffness.
Some people also complain of difficulty with swallowing, bowel and bladder anomalies, numbness and tingling, and poor cognitive function.
Fibrositis is often linked with psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety and stress-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Not all people with fibrositis have all linked symptoms.
The exact cause is not known but is believed to involve psychological, genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors
These same genes are also linked with other functional somatic syndromes and major depressive disorder.
Other causes are:
Genetic
Stress
Sleep disorders
Physical and emotional Trauma
Dopamine anomaly
Serotonin
Human growth hormone
Deposition disease
Infection
Chronic fatigue syndrome
The defining symptoms of fibrositis are chronic widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and heightened pain in response to tactile pressure (allodynia).
Other symptoms may be tingling of the skin (paresthesias), prolonged muscle spasms, weakness in the limbs, nerve pain, muscle twitching, palpitations, and functional bowel disturbances.
Many patients have cognitive dysfunction
Treatment
There is no cure for fibrositis,
The purpose of treatment is to help alleviate pain and other symptoms, and to help a person cope with the symptoms.
The first type of treatment may require:
1. Physical therapy
2. Exercise and fitness program
3. Stress-relief methods, including light massage and relaxation techniques
If these treatments do not work, the doctor may also prescribe medicines:
The purpose of medication is to improve sleep and pain tolerance.
Medicine should be given together with exercise and behavior therapy.
1.Anti-seizure medicine
2.Analgesics
3.Muscle relaxants
4.Anti-anxiety, hypnotics
5.Antidepressant
6.Dopamine agonists
7.Central nervous system stimulants
8.Combination therapy
Non-drug treatment
1.Regular floatation tank sessions
2.Whirlpool therapy
Psychological therapies
1.Cognitive behavioral therapy
2.Neurofeedback
3.Biofeedback and self-management
Healthy lifestyle
1.Eat a well-balanced diet
2.Avoid caffeine
3.Practice good sleep routines to improve quality of sleep
4.Stop smoking in smokers.
5.Reduce weight in the obese
6.Exercise
7.Heat to painful areas
8.Physical therapy, massage or acupuncture
9. Sleep therapy with medicine or aids such as CPAP for sloeep apnea
Surgical treatment:

Surgery is only indicated in severe cases with
a.Limb-threatening ischemia
b.Lifestyle-restricting claudication
Experimental treatments
1.Milnacipran
2.Dextromethorphan
Alternative therapy
1.Massage
2.Accupressure
3.Nutritional supplements such as magnesium with malic acid and various anti-oxidants to protect the tissues

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Fi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Jun 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370476183

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972. Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009. Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993. Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 70. However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com This autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com. From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks. He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books. He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures. Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple. For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients. The later books go into more details of medical disorders. He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter. The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks. He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke. His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre. The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall. He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) starting with the Apple computer and going to PC. The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core. The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive. He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance. His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner. The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned. This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale. Dr Kee is the author of: "A Family Doctor's Tale" "Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine" "Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Fibrositis,

(Fibromyositis)

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2017 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Fibrositis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What The patient Need to Treat Fibrositis)

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If the patient would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank the patient for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 amazon kindle books and 200 into Smashwords.com eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Fibrositis

What is Fibrositis?

Fibrositis is a frequent non-specific group of syndrome characterized by diffuse chronic pain, felt in and over muscle masses with focal trigger points or tender points in muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments.

Photo from Wikipedia - 18 trigger points of fibrositis

It is no longer necessary to find tender trigger points during the exam to make a diagnosis.

Fibrositis is a frequent disorder in which a person has long-term pain that is spread throughout the body.

Fibrositis has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression and anxiety.

People with fibrositis may also have tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues.

Fibrositis (FS) is typically featured by chronic widespread pain and allodynia (a heightened and painful response to pressure).

Fibrositis symptoms are not limited to pain resulting in the use of the alternative term fibromyalgia syndrome for the disorder.

Other symptoms are debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance and joint stiffness.

Some people also complain of difficulty with swallowing, bowel and bladder anomalies, numbness and tingling, and poor cognitive function.

Fibrositis is often linked with psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety and stress-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Not all people with fibrositis have all linked symptoms.

Fibrositis is evaluated to affect 2–8% of the population with a female to male incidence ratio that is between 7:1 and 9:1.

It is most often diagnosed in individuals between the ages of 20 and 50, though the start can begin early in childhood.

What are the causes of Fibrositis?

Causes

The exact cause is not known but is believed to involve psychological, genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors.

There is proof that environmental factors and certain genes raise the risk of forming fibrositis

These same genes are also linked with other functional somatic syndromes and major depressive disorder.

Fibrositis is almost always the combination of several disorders:

1. Genetic predisposition

There is a polygenic predisposition to fibrositis with higher presence of fibrositis in families

2. Stress

Stress can raise cortisol levels in the body resulting in widespread pain.

3. Sleep disturbance

People with fibrositis have short wave sleep that does not achieve stage 4 sleep.

4. Dopamine anomaly

Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter which can induce schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and addiction.

Anomaly in dopamine cause higher pain perception and analgesia.

Abnormal pain response in areas in the brain responsible for pain may react differently in fibrositis

5. Serotonin

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter important in controlling sleep patterns, mood, and feelings of well-being, concentration and descending limitation of pain.

Poor uptake of serotonin can produce pain and poor sleep.

6. Human growth hormone

Stress-induced problems in the hypothalamus may result in decreased sleep and decreased production of human growth hormone during slow-wave sleep.

People with fibrositis have low levels of HGH.

The treatment with exogenous HGH or growth hormone secretagogue decreases fibrositis linked pain and restores slow wave sleep.

7. Chronic fatigue syndrome patients has been known to form fibrositis between the start and the second year of illness

8. Irritable bowel syndrome is found at higher incidence in fibrositis.

9. Deposition disease

Fibrositis is an inherited disorder which induces the gradual phosphate build-up in cells but can be speeded up by trauma or illness.

10. Other causes are:

a. Infection, such as a virus, even though none has been identified except the Epstein - Barr virus,

b. Disease affecting the hypothalamus gland,

c. Immune response to intestinal bacteria

d. Neurotransmitter disruptions in the central nervous system

Possible stimulants of fibrositis are:

1. Physical or emotional trauma.

2. Abnormal pain response in areas in the brain that control pain may react differently in people with fibrositis.

3. Sleep disturbances.

Risk factors

1. Genetically predisposed.

2. More females than males, with a ratio of 9:1

3. Individuals between the ages of 20 and 50

Fibrositis is most frequent among women aged 20 to 50.

4. Higher psychosocial stress

5. Excessive physical exertion

Physical or emotional trauma

6. Lack of slow-wave sleep

7. Changes in humidity and barometric pressure

8. Lack of normal energy

These disorders may be seen with fibrositis or have similar symptoms:

1. Chronic neck or back pain

2. Chronic fatigue syndrome

3. Depression

4. Hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid)

5. Lyme disease

6. Sleep disorders

What are the symptoms of Fibrositis?

Symptoms

Symptoms can have a slow onset

Many patients have mild symptoms starting in childhood.

The defining symptoms of fibrositis are chronic widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and heightened pain in response to tactile pressure (allodynia).

Other symptoms may be tingling of the